Renovating & Remodeling Skills & How Tos

Name: Dan Bailey Type of Project: Kitchen remodel Location: East Boston, Boston, Massachusetts Type of building: 2nd Floor Condo in a Greek-Revival Row House At times, it may have seemed like the Kitchen Renovation That Would Never End. In fact, Dan had the dubious honor of edging out Christine and Pierre for Longest Renovation Diary Project to Date — but through all the setbacks and pitfalls and I-had-no-idea-this-would-take-so-longs, Dan stayed strong.

Rant over.

Sometimes living small means paying up.

Not to mention balanced.

It's going, going, but not quite gone.

This clever pair shares budget-friendly, out-of-the-box projects that even DIY-newcomers can complete with ease.

See this "coffin of a kitchen" open up.

Even if you're dealing with a very small laundry space, there are ways you can fit in all the functionality of a much larger room. All it takes is a little ingenuity.

Just as the markets started crashing in September of 2008, Lisa Hoffman and her husband bought their first house in Oakland, California. Thankfully, they weren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves, dig in, and do most of the work themselves—all on a very tight budget. The photo above is the sad-looking living room prior to their renovation. (Check out that wallpaper!

With only 75 square feet to work with these homeowners decided to go up with their renovation rather than out. Using light colors and simple lines has transformed this room incredibly. Check out the beautiful before and after here.With thoughtful design and an ability to take advantage of light incredibly well, the folks over at Design with ADD have make a dramatic impact on their tiny kitchen.Here are their thoughts on the design: Because we opted not to move the 75 sq. ft.

More often than not when we talk about going green renovations, we’re talking about the installation of eco-friendly items into new construction. Even when we’re talking about updating the old, the strides seem small — at least in comparison to this Ottawa residence and business. All we have to say is… wow!

Name: Stephanie Rearick and Jon Hain Location: Madison, Wisconsin Years lived in: 20 Stephanie and Jon had wanted to redo the kitchen in their 680-square-foot Madison home for 18 years. They knew the space was sad; as it was, there was little storage and workspace, cabinet doors didn’t close, and the room lacked any and all personality. Then they saw that, thanks to a grant, a local green-building consulting firm was offering design plans at a discount.

Rental kitchens are tough, you don’t want to put too much money into them but there isn’t much incentive for the landlord to make them top notch and gourmet. Here’s a great kitchen makeover that completely transforms the entire look of the kitchen for only $17. You really can’t miss this one.This great makover at HGTV really shows how far you can take $17. As the renters describe: We are renting right now and this kitchen was GROSS! I couldn’t live with it.

Budget is the name of the game, but you’d never know after taking a peek at Andi and Dean’s newly renovated bathroom. Following the purchase of their San Francisco Victorian last year, the couple has taken on the remodel room by room. Check out the amazing transformation of their master bath!After falling in love with an Anne Sacks tile that was slightly over budget, the couple did some research and found a similar Italian porcelain for less.

A New York couple hit the jackpot when they found this gorgeous 1887 Queen Anne for sale — only $46,000! It had amazing bones, including a completely octagonal room on each of its three stories. But there was a catch — it was condemed — and the bank loan would only work if the couple agreed to complete any major structural fixes and get the plumbing and electrical up to code within six months!The couple’s story is truly inspirational.

October was a ridiculously busy month for me. I welcomed three sets of out of town guests, as well as renovating the studio over my garage. Earlier this week, I posted about the bathroom. The final project was replacing the dingy, smelly carpet with wood laminate.Though the previous tenant had the two year old carpet cleaned before vacating, it had an overwhelming musty odor, an attempted repair where an iron had burned the carpet, and the seams were coming apart.

This basement makeover, submitted to us by Re-Nest reader Sarah of cafe + dish, shows just how transformative a few coats of white paint can be. As she writes: “Living in Boston, space is at a premium. The studio is in a “garden-level” part of the basement, so I used lots of white paint to brighten the space. What once was a very dark and dingy corner of a basement is now one of my favorite spaces…”“The renovation took about a week combined to complete.

Linda has a lovely home, outdoors and in, but her entryway was not feeling very welcoming. Besides being on the bland side, this entryway was also seriously deficient in functionality. Fortified with a whole lot of DIY ambition, Linda turned the entryway into a welcoming (and useful) space…As you can see in the ‘after’ photos, Linda went with a more dramatic palette for her entryway.

While having a “green” kitchen is a desirable trait these days, it had a whole different meaning in the 1940’s. A green floor, green walls and even a green ceiling is what Linn and her husband faced when they purchased their bungalow last year. But after a month of hard work the only green they’ll have to live with now is the envious kind.

This kitchen was a total disaster when owner Dorie bought her 1916 bungalow in Mesa, Arizona. The builder-grade cabinets and oven were fixed awkwardly in the center of the room while a huge custom wine rack took up the entire back wall — perhaps because it required serious wine goggles to look at that room without cringing? Dorie’s new kitchen is gorgeous even when you’re stone-cold sober.

Jenna sent us an email about her recent renovation project: Last week we just completed our big kitchen reno… on a budget! Here are some before & after details:Before:Pink walls, beige formica counters, old white tile floors, chrome and brass fixtures, 90’s whitewashed oak cabinets, mismatched fluorescent panel lighting, empty unused walls and lack of counter space.

Many of us can relate to Gemma’s situation. She knew that, down the line, she’d be taking on a full (read:expensive) renovation. But she wanted to do something to make the kitchen a fun, fresh place to be in the meantime.

We love it when readers send us their projects to be featured. Kelly emailed us about her fabulous kitchen makeover, taking it from the dark and dated room you see above to the bright and updated space you can see after the jump…When Kelly and her husband bought their 100-year-old house that needed renovating, she was thrilled to get the chance to design her dream kitchen. And a dream kitchen it is! Kelly had the old kitchen torn out and started fresh.

I posted this Before & After on Design Sponge a couple of years ago, but I never had the chance to show how I did it. You can figure out the paint part, obvi, but here’s how I actually tufted the seat. Enjoy!What You Need: 1 yd.

Although most of us have big plans for our bathrooms (someday!) sometimes big long expansive vanities with oversize mirrors can seem like a hindrance and leave you with less of a personal feeling. Want to see a neat trick to not only add storage but a bit of a custom built-in look as well?Over at Home Talk, there’s a great example of what a little trim can do for your bathroom. It’s a simple way to get a customized look on the cheap.

What do you get when you have a vision, passion, finances and patience? The re-birth of a 100-year old building into an astounding renovated home that will be cherished for a lifetime.Amy and her husband spotted this beat up century old brick building that used to be a trolley depot back in the day and just fell in love with it’s look, feel and history. They saw tremendous potential in this bare bones space to be the start of something much larger.

While adding a pull can seem like a minor home project, if not done correctly, it can quickly make your head ache. I have drilled pilot holes in the wrong place, made them too big, too small, jammed hardware in the door, broken hardware in half, cracked knobs, and lucky me, ruined fresh paint in the process. Follow these simple steps to learn from my mistakes.

This before & after renovation stars a once messy, chaotic laundry area in the home of four small children and their busy, creative parents. What’s truly wonderful is that they took an area that’s usually an afterthought, the laundry room, and turned it into a well-organized, cheerfully stylish space.According to Katie from Potluck Love, her old laundry room wasn’t a proper room, but a “hot mess of laundry” crammed into a hallway in the back of their home.

Timothy and Laura are busy folks – they have a blog (make that two) to run and a new baby. A secret to their “do it all” success? They know that one key to handling new challenges is to plan ahead and do what you can when you have the time to make life easier when you no longer have the luxury of that time.

After Rachel had her new wood floors installed, it was clear she had a problem- her always darker than desired kitchen was now even more basement-like because her cabinets now matched the tone of her floor. Determined to create a lighter, brighter space without spending a lot of money, Rachel decided to use paint to transform her kitchen.Rachel used a Rustoleum Countertop Transformations Kit to transform her counters from dark grey to desert sand.

While researching yesterday’s post on the comeback of wood paneling, I was delighted to discover this beautiful remodel of a kitchen from the 1960s. Homeowners Bret and Mary Peyton did a great job of updating the kitchen while keeping the design true to the home’s midcentury roots. Take a look.The wall between the kitchen and the dining room was removed, which really opens up the space.

Seeing potential. Not everyone has this gift to see beyond an aged surface, weathered finishes, a far from perfect interior space, or even damaged furnishings.

Brooke has turned her very generic and all too common country kitchen into a classic, clean space which will no doubt increase the value of their home.It may have taken five months of work, research, hunting and juggling two two-year-olds to get this project done, but it was worth every minute. The result is simply lovely and creates an updated and warm new feel for the main area of Brooke’s home. I think it’s a good example of refreshing a kitchen on a budget without demolition.

This bathroom had lots of color in all the wrong places prior to its renovation. Old cabinetry and cheap teal tile made this bathroom makeover a must. Check out the fresh and modern facelift that this bathroom desperately needed after the jump… When selecting materials for a bathroom, the most important material to start with is the stone or tile, along with the cabinetry.

This 80’s kitchen was in need of updated appliances, cabinetry, and an overall space adjustment. By taking extra space from adjacent rooms, the kitchen was opened up into a light and bright gourmet chef’s workplace. Check out the difference after the jump…Although it may not look like it from the before photo, this kitchen was very dark and narrow.

Here’s a great example of how paint and new cabinet hardware can easily and inexpensively upgrade a kitchen. The family over at Keeping It Cozy made over their kitchen with these upgrades, and a few other finishing touches to make the space look bright and brand new — with a budget of only $1000!

When Ashley and Greg purchased their home they knew that a kitchen remodel was in their future. The existing space was poorly designed, with dated appliances, unattractive cabinetry, and a fair amount of plumbing and electrical issues. Starting from scratch, they designed and built a beautiful, modern, and functional space that makes you wonder – is this even the same house?!Not afraid to get their hands dirty, the couple did what they could on their own.

A key element of renovating a room is knowing when to say when. If you have a limited budget or limited time then the most helpful thing you can do is to be realistic about what you can achieve. This is especially true when you purchase a house that is a ‘fixer-upper,’ because then you are in danger of succumbing to project fatigue, when there is so much to do in every direction that it is difficult to focus on just one thing.

This is the story of Runaround Sue, the name given to a 1961 Airstream Safari that was lovingly renovated by Prairie Construction. The vintage trailer’s original beauty was carefully restored while making it leaner (more efficient) and greener. This time of year already makes me long to head out for the open roads, and now I’m filled with daydreams of spending the summer traversing the country in Runaround Sue.

When Josh, Lauren and their twins moved into their new townhouse in Washington DC’s historic Mount Pleasant neighborhood, they knew right away they had to change the bathroom. The retro pink, peach and black tiled bathroom, while quaint and vintage, was not their style. And in a smallish townhouse the room felt too busy and crowded. (Perhaps they also knew that once their daughters got old enough to talk they would fall in love with the bathroom’s perky pink: time was of the essence!

Audree was always pretty. She definitely has good bones, but over time Audree’s looks had, well, faded a bit. It happens. Life on the road takes a toll on a girl. But then in walked Tiffany, Audree’s new owner. She knew that with a fresh coat of pink and a hip new look, Audree could still turn heads. And she was right. What a bombshell Audree’s become!

At last night’s Apartment Therapy design meetup, we heard from Frank Potash (aka Mid-C Frank), whose quick — and very dramatic — kitchen remodel was featured on the Kitchn a few years ago. Before, the kitchen was clean and cozy, but a bit generic. Jump below to see the after, and a floor plan of the changes.Check out the full tour at The Kitchn to see how Frank re-did his whole kitchen with Ikea cabinets — in just five weeks.

With some rehabs you want to strip away all the years and start over with clean, modern space. With others, you want stay true to the home’s original design period. For those times, there are stores out there that offer antique and reproduction hardware and lighting. These are a few of our favorites. House of Antique Hardware This Portland, Oregon-based company stocks everything from door and window hardware to lighting and electrical supplies ranging from Colonial to Mid-Century.

I can’t tell you how easy this project is. Seriously, my bloodhound could do it. This is also one of those things you can do to make yourself happy as a renter, but that won’t piss your landlord off. After removing it, just keep the old light and put it back up before you move out.

If the idea of constantly heating your water in a big tank sitting in your basement sounds mighty inefficient and wasteful to you, then a tankless water heater may be the right option for you. I’ve researched some of the advantages of a tankless water heater system, alongside some of the compromises that come with the compact, more energy efficient option. There are many advantages to going with a tankless water heater.

Niamh of Seek Design had a client with a wish to revamp her entire apartment on a budget. Follow me after the jump to see what she was able to whip up in her outdated kitchen…To cut costs, Niamh painted the kitchen backsplash and cabinets and just replaced handles and knobs. An upper cabinet was removed to give a small open shelving area. The biggest cost was new appliances (isn’t that always the case?) and the new tiled floor.

Have you ever driven by a run-down, abandoned house and thought what a shame it is that such a lovely home is going to waste? This is the story of how one couple purchased an abandoned home and, with a lot of help from generous friends and neighbors, gave it a completely new lease on life. The couple in question are the parents of our lovely and talented video director, Rebecca Blumhagen.

Removing wallpaper is a massive job —many how-tos begin with “you can do this” and other encouraging words— but with the following steps, you really can do the job and do it well. Patience, persistence, time, and upper body strength are the major requirements, and a bucket, sponge, and scraper are really the only tools you really need. I’ll say it again: you can do this.

This couple wanted to create a space in their Upper West Side apartment dedicated to displaying and enjoying wines. While they didn’t have a lot of kitchen space, they did have this under-the-stairs closet, ripe for transformation.The homeowners were connected with Ecostruct, a Brooklyn-based design/build firm, through TheSweeten, a service that aims to connect New Yorkers with design professionals for renovations of all kinds.

What do you do when you’re living in a small studio apartment, but don’t want people to be able to see your bed immediately upon walking in the door? Apartment Therapy reader Christina was faced with this particular dilemma when designing her friend Ann’s apartment and decided to get creative.

This NYC apartment kitchen got the job done. But there were a few things about it that irked — the L-shaped layout blocked part of the window, and there wasn’t a lot of storage space. The appliances were outdated, and the laminate cabinets had seen better days. Plus, the whole room just felt, well… little. What to do?Can you believe it’s the same room? Architect Nalina Moses removed the sink cabinet that was blocking access to the lower part of the window.

The makeover of this Brooklyn living room wasn’t just for aesthetic reasons; the homeowners needed more organized, out-of-sight storage, and a space that was kid and cat friendly. They also wanted to incorporate a small piano, and be able to watch TV without the television being the focal point of the room. To do this, they turned to New York design firm Mercer Interior. Check out the results after the jump.

In a small space, just a few changes can make a big difference. The owner of this Brooklyn Heights studio knew she wanted to update her kitchen (and add a dishwasher!), so she turned to designer Sarah Zames, owner of Brooklyn design firm General Assembly. Under Sarah’s guidance, a few small updates came together to make a big impact. Check out the finished product…Ta-da!

You may have seen the kitchen in this West Village apartment, which got a modern update courtesy of designer Carly Yates. One of the apartment’s bathrooms also got a much-needed facelift. Check out the transformation after the jump.This bathroom renovation is all about the details. Lots of clever choices keep the room spacious, modern, and very functional. From Carly: The large and light feeling of the bathroom was achieved by wall mounted fixtures that allow the tile to flow underneath.

When Sarah and her husband first spotted this cabin it was in need of a major facelift. They fell in love with the structure and the land and only saw the potential this little beach gem had to offer. Follow me after the jump to see their vision come to life…Living full-time in a very colorful LA home, Sarah wanted their cabin getaway to be bright, white and fairly spartan. She and her hubs gutted the entire cabin and did all the work themselves.

When we first moved into our 1919 Craftsman one of the first things I had my mind set on fixing was the kitchen. I decided to begin with the outdated breakfast nook (oh and btw, the ‘before’ image is the styling from the realtor at the open house). Follow me after the jump to see where it ended up…First things first — the red paint was actually lead paint from way back when painted over layers and layers of warped wallpaper.

Charlotte Turtle and her husband didn’t have a master bath in their home and wanted to find a way to remedy the situation. They did, however, have a large laundry room attached to their bedroom that they thought just might do the trick. Follow me after the jump to see what they came up with…They began this renovation with planking the walls, leaving one wall with exposed brick. For Charlotte, the design element key to making this rustic bathroom a success was the sink basins.

Cybele and her husband transformed their very old, gross garden shed into a playhouse that their daughter uses every day. The inside is about 8′ x 10′, and the exterior wrap-around porch adds even more room for tea parties during warmer months. I mean, how many kids have their own wrap-around porch? The answer is not many.The adults did the fix-up work while their daughter napped.

By the time we were completing construction on our kitchen, I was nine months pregnant. Nothing will motivate a contractor to wrap things up faster than his client going into labor before his eyes. I waved away an offer to be driven to the hospital and said between deep breathes, “I just need it done!

From Lilly: When we were shopping for our home and walked through what is now our kitchen, I was really taken aback by the dark and cheap looking laminate counters and back splash. However, I thought the ceramic tile floors and off-white cabinets could be a great base for an update.